Blockage causes Stemmers Run sewage spill

About 18,000 gallons of sewage spilled into Stemmers Run over the weekend when a sewer line became blocked on Trumps Mill Road in Overlea, Baltimore County officials reported.

The overflow lasted from about noon Saturday to about 12:30 a.m. Sunday, as repair crews were unable to immediately dislodge the blockage, according to David Fid ler, spokesman for the county's Department of Public Works. Workers brought pumps to the site and set up a pump-around, which enabled them to restore sewer service. The public is advised to avoid contact with water in the area, and warning signs are being posted along the stream, which empties into Back River.

That sewage overflow comes on the heels of another incident last week near Loch Raven Reservoir and a much larger one two weeks ago in Baltimore, which city officials belatedly disclosed on Friday.

About 15,000 gallons of untreated waste overflowed from a manhole Wednesday in a wooded area east of Dulaney Valley Road near the intersection with Chapelwood Lane, Fidler reported. Most of the overflow, which was believed to have been caused by roots blocking the sewer line, was contained in a wooded area, away from houses.

The city's public works department, meanwhile, reported on Friday that about 220,000 gallons of sewage overflowed on March 13 in the 400 block of E. Eager St. Spokesman Kurt Kocher said the overflow was weather-related and had occurred in a section of sewer line that has had previous backups. The sewage flowed via storm drains into the Jones Falls, but the area has since been cleaned up, he said in an e-mail.